Story Block size?

[Zandrite]

Hey, so I was pondering this and I would love some opinions.

What are the views on the size of a story block in interactive stories / story games?
Meaning specifically the amount of text presented before a choice.
It seems like a matter of taste, and likely boils down to how pivotal, numerous, or significant you want your choices to be.

So what do you like?

Do you think some choices are pretty unnecessary for a story? E.g. a character needs to get to a location, so obviously you don't give the reader the option of whether or not they open the front door.

Or do some smaller choices add to the quality of the story? E.g. a phone starts ringing that furthers the plot but you still give the reader the choice of not picking up.

Even then, how much do you put between your reader and their next choice? Do you like the idea of long scene settings and descriptors, or do you think that story blocks that run too long take away the momentum and the point of an interactive story?

Thanks for any feedback on this matter!

 

[AlinaX]

Getting the reader to make choices for the character creates a dissonance, imo, because it's up to the author usually to develop all those inner conflicts and then resolve them. Letting the reader make choices and then the character having to try and justify them somehow is awkward. Unsatisfying.

It can work better, I think, if the reader is making external choices, affecting the world around the characters.

The thing to watch out for is fatigue. The more choices that lead to different endings, the harder it gets for the author to really invest in these.

 

[Bamagan]

I occasionally do similar interactive stories on other sites. I'm not sure where the sweet spot lies, and to some extent it depends on the pacing of individual stories, but I personally prefer the ones where you've got at least about 500-1000 words of development between most choices. That's enough to explore the ramifications of previous choices in reasonable detail and not so long that it takes away the feel of interactivity. I kind of loathe the ones where each 'chapter' is about a tweet's-worth of thin exposition before the next choice (although if used sparingly, such micro-choices wedged inside longer narrative arcs can be an intriguing device to show how rapidly circumstances can change sometimes).

I'll second what @AlinaX says about external choices. In one story I'm working on now, the first 'node' involves whether the primary character's girlfriend is complicit in the events that unfold in the first chapter or is just as surprised as the viewpoint character. It leaves me in complete control of character development while still giving the reader a meaningful choice as to what kind of story they ultimately read. I have seen some good stories, though, where the choices offered effectively mean you're following the viewpoint character as you 'discover' their characterization, i.e. good vs. evil.

 

[Zandrite]

Thanks for the thoughts
I'm still beavering away at my brainstorming, so it's very helpful. I think it's a very valid point about fatigue, @AlinaX . I'm trying really hard not to get ahead of myself and keep the project manageable.

Still, I think I'm going to be leaning a little into the game aspect, myself. I want the reader to feel like they've got a certain level of control over what's going to happen. Even if it's ultimately an illusion, I'd like people to feel like they've made things happen through choices, instead of mostly having the story happen to them.

Not that I want little point-form blocks for the narrative. It's going to be interesting working out what feels right. You've given me a good idea of where to start, @Bamagan . I appreciate that.

I'm so jazzed about working on this, it feels like a really good fit for me. I'm up for anyone who wants to drop me a line and chat on the subject. Brainstorm, talk about Inky, etc.

Happy writing,
-Zan

 

[AlinaX]

I wonder if there's a good way to collaborate on an Inky story.

 

[Zandrite]

Oh, intriguing thought!

Well, considering you can include files, there might be? Sections could be handled by different people. And then maybe you send the section files to a main writer for combining... and they send the complete version back to be reviewed, edited, et cetera?

Might be tricky, but potentially very fun.

 

[AlinaX]

Currently thinking a shared Dropbox folder would be best, but also a nuisance.

 

[Bamagan]

I wonder if there's a good way to collaborate on an Inky story.

I expect it would ultimately suffer the same fate as the 'chain stories' category, since most of the same hurdles to collaboration would apply.

 

[AlinaX]

Well, there is that, but I'm mainly thinking about editing at the moment. A private repository on github may be a possibility.

 

[AlinaX]

Apparently you can do plain text files in Google drive, and you can map the drive to your computer. I'll have to try that.

 

[AlinaX]

I guess if an author wants the story to be something others can build on, some sort of CC BY-SA license will be needed.

 

[Bamagan]

I guess if an author wants the story to be something others can build on, some sort of CC BY-SA license will be needed.

What, and take all the fun away from the people who like to flatter the originator with theft and mimicry?
Sarcasm aside, that's probably a good idea, assuming there's any serious interest in collaboration to begin with. I suppose there are enough 'shared universe' stories on the site to suggest an appetite for such. Perhaps one of the people involved with those is already familiar with whatever Creative Commons licensing they use (if any).

 

[NoTalentHack]

I think it depends on how "game-y" you're trying to make it. If the idea is to have a branching narrative that changes at major story points, long blocks with major decisions are the way to go; things like "who do you save from the burning building" types of stuff. If the idea is to instead do something where the player/reader has more agency, presumably with some later story impact, a few hundred words would be about my limit, I'd think, especially when it comes to dialogue.